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Free Alzheimer's disease conference to take place on Sept. 17

University of Louisville faculty researchers and clinicians with expertise in polypharmacy, caregiving and more will join with a Washington-based geriatric researcher at a free conference examining Alzheimer's disease.

25 Aug 2011

South African Health Minister promotes exclusive breastfeeding to fight rising infant mortality rate

Speaking at a breastfeeding conference on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that "reducing child mortality is one of the most important priorities in our country and central to this is breastfeeding as a child survival strategy," Agence France-Presse reports.

25 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Perry's health record, Medicare spending slows, postal service's health plan controversy

And now for some good news: Medicare spending growth has been slowing noticeably. ... some evidence suggests it may be a shift toward value in the health-care sector. Various hospital executives have told me they have already begun to prepare for less generous reimbursement from Medicare as the new federal health-care-reform law takes effect.

25 Aug 2011

ICU patients with MRSA infection may face 50% increased risk of death

Does the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, cause more deaths in hospitals than the bacteria that are sensitive to common antibiotics? Opinions have been varied, but now a worldwide study at, among others, Linköping University in Sweden, indicates that the mortality rate can be 50 % higher for intensive care patients infected with MRSA.

25 Aug 2011

Successful aging, quality of life linked with sexual satisfaction in older women

A study by researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego finds that successful aging and positive quality of life indicators correlate with sexual satisfaction in older women.

25 Aug 2011

Global Fund to resume suspended grants to China

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which "froze disbursements of its AIDS grant to China in November and all other grants in May over suspected misuse of the money and the government's reluctance to involve community groups, ... said Tuesday that it was lifting the freeze on financing to ensure that AIDS work in China continued while it worked with government officials, representatives from United Nations agencies and private groups to resolve the dispute," the Associated Press reports.

25 Aug 2011

Patients with liver disease may now access UCSD's new Nevada clinic

Patients in Nevada seeking care for liver disease may now access the university-level expertise of UC San Diego Health System's Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation.

25 Aug 2011

Roundup: Interim agreement between Planned Parenthood and Ariz. approved; Kan. to release budget plan

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama this week signed off on an agreement between Planned Parenthood and the state that allows most of the 2011 regulations to go into effect while the legal challenge continues.

25 Aug 2011

Health costs watch dog established

An organization that would independently determine the efficient price of services in hospitals will be announced by the Australian federal government as consumer concern about the rising cost of healthcare deepens.

24 Aug 2011

Constituents try to connect with deficit panel members over possible spending cuts

With the work of the 'super committee' picking up steam, news outlets report on how, while back in their districts for the August recess, some of the panelists are hearing concerns about Medicare and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, former GOP Senator John Danforth recollects his first-hand experiences with the politics of deficit-cutting commissions.

24 Aug 2011

GetWellNetwork doing well with hospitals

In other health IT news, a study found that Google-type word searches of hospital medical records are better at detecting patient safety issues than searches using numerical billing codes.

24 Aug 2011

Loss of job and health insurance threatens family's health and financial stability

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of people who lost their health insurance when they lost their jobs over the last two years said that they skipped needed health care or did not fill prescriptions because of cost, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The same proportion is also struggling with medical bills or medical debt, compared to about half (49%) who lost jobs but not their health insurance.

24 Aug 2011

State film subsidy programs undermine longstanding tobacco control efforts

State governments, including California as well as others in Canada and the United Kingdom, pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into major motion pictures that depict smoking -- leading to thousands of new teen smokers every year, a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researcher has found.

24 Aug 2011

Major new guideline on treatment of high blood pressure

The way blood pressure is diagnosed and treated is set to be revolutionised following new guidelines for the medical profession issued by NICE and developed in conjunction with the British Hypertension Society (BHS).

24 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 24, 2011

In today's headlines, Medicare tries bundled payments and HHS signals that it may give states a second chance to avoid a federally-run health insurance exchange.

24 Aug 2011

UMA pharmacy technician diploma programs offer healthcare education to U.S. students

Two recently launched pharmacy technician training programs from Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) have made it possible for students nationwide to prepare for a career in this expanding field, which is projected to experience double-digit growth in the coming years.

24 Aug 2011

New method can identify environmental safety of chemicals

Baylor University environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals.

24 Aug 2011

Square 1 Bank extends $6M credit facility to oxygen therapy innovator, Inogen

Square 1 Bank, the exclusive banking partner to entrepreneurs and the venture capital community, proudly announces the extension of a $6 million credit facility to oxygen therapy innovator, Inogen, Inc.

24 Aug 2011

Streamlining esophagectomy reduces hospital stay, cost associated with surgery

Thoracic surgeons at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have found that by altering the pre- and post-surgical care of a patient in need of an esophagectomy they are able to reduce the length of hospital stay by more than two-thirds and have a significant impact on the overall costs.

24 Aug 2011

Measles exposure in Philadelphia and Lancaster counties

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are advising the public of exposure to a case of measles in Lancaster and Philadelphia counties.

24 Aug 2011